Servant of Gaia
by LKX7ADHD
Summary: Chris is a loyal servant of Gaia - or is he? He gets captured by Percy and is brought back to Camp Half-Blood. However, the next thing he knows, he is forced on a quest with Clarisse, Percy and Annabeth.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_This is the new story I was talking about in Poseidon's Call._

_In this new story, Chris will be one of the bad guys on Princess Andromeda that Percy destroyed but Percy saved him._

**Chris' POV**

The dull blaring of the ship's alarm jerked me sharply into consciousness. Blearily opening my eyes, I realised that the time has come. This was the time to prove myself worthy of her trust; the time for me, her loyal servant, to show my devotion for her cause. We were going to ambush Percy Jackson. Unlike all my other tasks, I knew this would be different, different from all the other assignments. This required many things I have picked up over the years: stealth, something I learnt while spying; wielding a sword, something I had improved while fighting monsters and sparring with others; resolve, something I always had.

Currently, the plan was simple – ambush Percy before he gets a chance to blow up _Princess Andromeda_. While I had no intention of failing, I knew the consequences would be severe. We could not afford having our plans go to waste. Without our ship, everything we did so far would be gone. Useless. It would take a long time before we could continue with our plans. Of course, knowing this, we had placed some of our work in other locations, but the majority of it was still here. Still, it was not my intention to fail.

Gearing up, I looked around me, noticing everyone else do the same. _Was Percy that powerful? Just how many demigods did we set aside to ambush him?_ Back when I was in camp, I had heard of his exploits. Then, I had thought nothing about it, rationalising that it would most probably be due to luck. But this seemed like too much, even if Percy was really that good.

I felt myself tense up. This wasn't good. There was no way I could stand out among so many demigods There was just no way that I could get Gaia to recognise my loyalty. I glared at everyone in the room before heading up to the deck. With Morpheus on our side, there was no need for briefing. All that was done in our sleep. Readying myself for Percy's ambush, or rather, our ambush of Percy's ambush, I headed towards the assembly area. As I approached, I heard an unfamiliar noise. Stilling myself, I listened carefully. The noise was coming from the boiler room. Going down to investigate, I realised it was Percy. I froze, desperately trying to think of a plan to remain in control of the situation.

**Percy's POV**

I whistled as I stood up on my mini-boat on my way to the _Princess Andromeda_. I heard the steady wingbeat of my black Pegasus Blackjack drumming quietly in the night, marking Blackjack's arrival. "Let's go save the world."

The wind blew strongly against my face, wildly whipping my hair about. Alighting gently on an empty deck, Blackjack turned towards me. _Better get some sugar cubes for me once you return, boss!_ I smiled. "This monster ship doesn't sell any sugar, you know." I_ know you'll find a way, boss!_ With that, my flying transport disappeared as he camouflaged into the night sky.


	2. Chapter 2: Chris Rodriguez

**Percy's POV**

I crept into the boiler room, but it wasn't really necessary. The corridors were empty and the silence was oppressive. It felt slightly strange that all the monsters were absent from the most important place on their ship, but they were probably too busy terrorising the mortals. I shuddered at the thought. I brought out all the explosives and laid them out as quickly as I could. The greek fire inside those jars would be more than enough to send this ship to the bottom of the sea. I smiled at the little thought of Laistrygonians desperately trying to doggy paddle in the sea. Suddenly, monster voices reverberated down the corridor. Subsequently, a huge fist smashed into the locked metal door. The metal groaned. It held, but it barely survived the blow. I drew Riptide, getting ready for the fight. With another bodyslam, the Laistrygonian stumbled into the boiler room, out of balance. He was easily dispatched by a slice across the midsection. Once the Celestial Bronze touched him, the Laistrygonian's mouth formed an 'O' of surprise before exploding into yellow dust. The next two giants were more careful, stepping into the room slowly. A flurry of swordplay reduced the first giant into monster dust, but the second performed a move of extraordinary skill surprising me as his giant fist smashed into my sword. I lost my grip on it as it skidded on the floor, out of my reach. A fist came down hard on my jaw. My vision momentarily turned hazy as I fell onto the floor, dazed. I reached out a hand and felt a gut-wrenching pain as a few tonnes of water rocked Princess Andromeda dangerously to one side. I felt hands come down on my arms and pulling me to my feet, breaking my concentration on the water. I saw the other Laistrygonian lifting Riptide and tossing it into the sea. _Great_, I thought. The sword will appear in my pocket later, but by then, it would already be too late.

I was dragged out into the daylight. The Laistrygonians dumped me in front of Kronos. I coughed up some blood onto the floor as I struggled to stand on both feet. I managed to do so, but it only drew a sneer from Kronos. I still could not feel Riptide back in my pocket. "You are no match for me now, spawn of Poseidon. I shall destroy you!" He charged at me, with his scythe that was once Luke's sword, Backbiter, in his hand.

I barely had time to dodge his lightning-fast overhead swing. The sword whistled past my head barely centimetres away as I backed towards the railing. Another blow sent me diving to one side, desperately holding on to the hope of survival. Struggling to my feet, I felt something cold and hard in my pocket. _Just in time_, I thought, reaching into my back pocket. Drawing Riptide, I felt uneasy as Kronos strolled leisurely towards me as if he had all the time in the world, which he did, considering that he was the Primordial God of Time. Swinging his scythe in a deadly arc, our blades connected with a clash. I felt my muscles strain to defend myself as I struggled to keep up with Kronos' strength and speed. The more blows he dealt, the weaker and feebler I felt. Added with Kronos' ability to control time around him, it was like trying to fight someone while in slow-motion. I feinted right in an attempt to throw Kronos off his attacking streak. It worked as Kronos moved his sword to the right to deflect my attack. I stabbed him in the stomach but my sword bounced off harmlessly. I had momentarily forgotten that he had the Curse of Achilles. He was only toying with me.

"You cannot defeat me." he scowled. I parried his next stroke with difficulty, only to get kicked in the chest. I flew backwards, smashing into the railing. I tasted blood in my mouth and reluctantly accepted the fact that I could not take on Kronos alone.

_Sea is my only way to survive this fight_, I told myself as I started having second thoughts about throwing myself off a huge ship into the water far, far below. "Shoot him!" Kronos shouted furiously, flecks of saliva exploding out of his mouth. Man, that guy has serious anger management issues. An arrow whizzing past my head was convincing enough to tell me that it was time for my departure. Leaping off the railing, I saw a familiar face contorted with desperation as he dived towards me, trying to drag me back onto the ship.

Chris Rodriguez.

I felt his hand closing in an iron grip over my wrist, but his momentum was too strong.

We toppled over into the sea.

**Chris' POV**

Percy Jackson was in the boiler room of the ship. God knows what he was doing in the ship. Fear and desperation coursed through my mind as I struggled to formulate a plan to prevent him from escaping from Princess Andromeda. Then, I saw Percy getting dragged by two Laistrygonians. I smirked silently. Even the 'best' demigod couldn't beat two Laistrygonians. Dumping him on the deck, the Laistrygonians complained that Percy was dirtying the floor that they had just cleaned. Kronos silenced them with one stroke of his scythe. We all booed and jeered as the 'great' Percy Jackson struggled to his feet. Coughing blood and dazed, Jackson didn't seem much like a hero. Kronos advanced menacingly towards the demigod, casually handling his scythe as he prepared to end any hopes the Gods had. We would soon achieve victory in Manhattan as Camp Half-Blood reeled in shock over the death of their favoured and most precious leader. Kronos leapt forward, lashing out with lightning speed with his scythe, pushing Jackson back towards the railing. With moves that I grudgingly accepted as brilliant swordplay, Percy Jackson landed a blow to Kronos' midriff, doing zero damage as his sword bounced off Kronos. Smashing down Jackson's guard with a massive blow, Kronos kicked the demigod away onto the steel railing. Jackson seemed to have finally reached a conclusion that he could never beat Kronos. Then he leapt onto the railing, preparing to jump off the ship. "Shoot him!" Kronos shouted. Jackson's momentary hesitation was all I needed. I steadied my bow, feeling an extraordinary calm spread through my arms. Before the arrow flew away, I knew it was on target as it rushed towards Jackson's head. But as if by luck, he bent down to survey the distance he had to fall to reach the water. Crushing desperation enveloped me as I rushed towards Percy Jackson at inhuman speed. Then Percy slipped off the railing, falling towards the sea below. I saw him take out the detonator simultaneously and press the red button. Lunging forward, I grabbed Jackson's hand. I could not let Jackson escape! If I was going down, I was going down with him.

I felt the impact soften by Jackson's waterbending powers, but the cold and the despair turned my vision hazy. The last thing I felt before my eyes closed was Percy Jackson blasting through the water at breakneck speed, and the exploding of _Princess Andromeda_. _I had failed_, I told myself as I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3: Trust

**Percy's POV**

I clung on to Chris' hand as I created an air bubble, surrounding Chris and myself. As Chris lay unconscious in the bubble, I thought to myself, _that guy had nearly doomed me to die aboard Princess Andromeda_. Fighting the cruel urge to just let him suffocate, I reminded myself that he didn't really have a choice, that he had been brainwashed by Kronos. He was an innocent demigod. Controlling the water currents around ourselves, the bubble rushed forward, speeding past a high speed submarine. A guy on board started in surprise, looking into his periscope again to check for the bubble. However, by that time, the bubble had disappeared. "I need more sleep," he muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes.

The air bubble finally surfaced and popped. Gasping and panting in exhaustion, I summoned my magical boat towards us. Clambering up onto the boat, I dragged Chris, now soaking wet, up onto the boat. "Camp Half-Blood." I gasped, before collapsing onto the deck with exhaustion. I didn't know if Blackjack could carry both of us, and I was definitely not going to take the risk.

I lay there panting as I let the water slowly drift the boat towards the lake in Camp Half-Blood. I dipped my hand into the water and slowly let its magic do the work. It had been a few hours since the boat zoomed away from the ship, and I had been regaining my energy, slowly but surely. Chris sat at the stern of the boat, shivering in the cold as his wet garments plastered against his body. He seemed to be dying of hypothermia. Sighing, I raised a hand and dried all the water off, causing his violent shaking shivering to cease, only to realise that once the mind-numbing cold had lifted from his mind, he drew his sword and dived towards me.

"Hey!" I yelled in surprise as I jumped backwards and used Riptide to parry his sword away. With a twist of my blade, his sword was wrenched from his grip, falling into the frigid waters. Chris did not seem eager to rescue his sword. Instead he charged at me with his bare fists. His brainwasher seemed to have done an awesome job on him. _Some people just think too linearly_, I thought, sending a spray of freezing water towards Chris, soaking him once again.

**Chris' POV**

I woke up, cold and shivering. _The cold. Bad. Dying._ I thought to myself, unable to form coherent thoughts as sheer cold permeated my skin. _Hypothermia. So this is how it feels like._ The violent chatter of my teeth made my view of world vibrate as I desperately tried to conserve my body warmth. It was a hopeless battle. I suffered badly, barely aware of my surroundings.

I surveyed my surroundings. I was on a boat and Percy was dipping his hand into the sea, reviving himself with the water. I was too busy shivering and hugging myself warm that I did not bother attacking him. Then, Percy spotted me with my blue lips. He sighed and he put his hand on me. I did not have any strength in me to shrug his hand off my shoulder. Suddenly, I was dry again and I felt the glorious feeling of warmth, a feeling that I barely remembered.

Changing my mind about not attacking, I used the situation to take out my sword and charge at him wildly, with the basic idea of hacking him into half. My mission would be accomplished if he died. Unfortunately, things weren't that simple in life. He jumped back in surprise as he parried my sword. With just a twist of his sword, he wrenched my sword out of my grip and threw it into the sea. I didn't bother picking it up. Instead, I charged at Percy with my bare fists, determined to bash him into oblivion.

Out of the blue, my face was met with a freezing cold blast of water. I shrieked in surprise, then in pain as my skin was exposed to sub-zero temperatures. I fell back onto the floor, spasming as the water chilled me to the bones.

"Listen to me." Percy explained, "I don't like you, but I can't let you die either. So stay put and don't annoy me." I was too cold and worn out to respond, so all I did was lie unmoving on the wooden boards. Gliding through the smooth waters, the boat seemed to go into warp like in Star Trek and it appeared in the middle of the lake in Camp Half-Blood.

**Annabeth's POV**

"Boom!" I heard a sudden crash. I jumped in surprise. Correction - everyone jumped in surprise; including Chiron. Travis had jumped up, accidentally pouring the remainder of his dinner down Conner's lap. It would have been funny, but for me, it meant something else altogether.

Percy was back.

I raced out of the dinner hall to the lake. There, I smiled widely, rushing towards the boat. I could see Percy on it. However, a certain someone whom I did not particularly like was also in the boat - Chris Rodriguez.

**Chris' POV**

The boat exploded into the lake, sending up a spray of water that soaked one of the boat's passengers. I cursed under my breath as I got soaked, again. Unlike its explosive arrival, the boat drifted relatively calmly on the lake through the still waters, towards the crowd of campers that had assembled on the banks. I looked down we came closer. I couldn't stand the looks of disgust and hatred from the campers, especially my siblings from Hermes cabin. Hatred radiated off the back of my neck, as dozens of campers stared at me. Percy stepped ashore, starting to recount the events that happened that led to the blowing up of _Princess Andromeda_. His news was well received, but his passenger, me, was not as welcome.

Annabeth stepped forward, embracing Percy. But then she spotted me. Her smile vanished instantly."What's he doing here?" She said, surveying my soaked clothes, noticing the slight shiver that was somehow linked to my blue lips. I could not stand the intensity of Annabeth's stare, her piercing grey eyes boring into me.

"I decided to give Chris a chance," Percy said, trying to diffuse the potentially volatile situation. My face turned red, ashamed to be cowered by a girl with a hard stare. I personally vowed to make her life difficult when I helped Kronos destroy this place. My poor deluded siblings should have joined our side for a better future, but instead they doomed themselves by remaining at camp. I barely listened as Percy recounted his story.

"Get him to the forge, I don't want him to get near any weapons, alright?" She indicated two Hephaestus campers that had tried to escape the harsh words being exchanged. The campers looked at me warily, leading me away from Annabeth and Percy.

**Percy's POV**

After I was done, Annabeth was fuming at Chris. She dragged me to a corner by a collar and whispered seethingly, "He tried to kill you, Percy. Why did you bring him here? He could act as a spy for Kronos!"

"Chris is not that kind of person."

"Oh so you know what kind of person he is, don't you?"

"No, but..."

"We can't let Kronos have the upper hand! Don't you understand?"

"At least give Chris a chance to renew himself?"

"Fine, but if he makes any more mistakes, he'll go, okay?" Annabeth agreed unwillingly.

I agreed. What else could I do for my girlfriend?


	4. Chapter 4: The Great Prophecy

**Chris' POV**

"Get some of those iron ingots from the storeroom, Chris." Beckendorf said kindly, having decided to give me a chance to redeem myself. Grumbling to myself, I trudged towards the small storage shed at the back of the forge. Struggling through mounds of scrap metal, I finally gathered enough metal to fill the sack fully. Turning to leave, I saw a carpet of antique weave that I had never noticed before. It seemed to be covering a smooth curved object underneath. My curiosity was piqued, inviting me to step closer to the object. I grabbed the carpet and yanked it. There was a bow underneath. It was a beautiful bow, but it was covered with centuries of dust and its quiver beside it had spiderwebs clinging onto the arrows. I looked furtively around me and was sure that there was no one watching me. Quickly, I grabbed the bow and stuffed it into the small satchel I found on the ground along with the arrows. I heard the colony of dust mites getting annoyed by the the sudden movement but I didn't care. I dragged the sack back to Beckendorf with a new satchel hanging from my shoulder. _(The bow is the Bow of Heracles. You can find it on google if you want to see it.)_ No one noticed the satchel as it swung peacefully from my shoulder. "I need a drink." I said, casting down the sack beside Beckendorf. He grunted, not looking up from his half-finished battle-ax. I rushed out of the room and burst into the Hermes Cabin. Pretending to gulp down a pint of water, I concealed my satchel in a secret spot in the floorboards. _Job done._

Stepping out of the stuffy cabin filled with the odour of too many inhabitants, I decided to try out my archery skills on other bows. I walked to the archery range and grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows. _Not of great quality_, I thought, holding out the flimsy bow with a draw-weight of less than thirty pounds. Barely stronger than a hunting bow, but of course all the well-made bows languished in the Apollo cabin's possession. Drawing the bow back to full draw easily, a sixth sense levelled the bow directly towards the bull's eye. Archery. What I did best. I had been mocked by other demigods under Kronos when my sword-fighting skills were a little less than satisfactory. Let's see what you can do with a sword when arrows are sprouting out of your chest, I thought.

However, just when I was about to fire the arrow, a blow was dealt to my jaw. I was knocked backwards as the bow flew out of my hand. The quiver of the arrows cushioned my fall, but only slightly. I clutched my jaw, probably dislocated, as I glared at the intruder, only to be met by Annabeth's gaze.

"What do you think you're doing?" she yelled.

"I was just practising my archery skills!" I protested.

"To use it against us, right?"

"What's wrong with practising my archery? I'm not doing anything wrong!"

A crowd had already gathered around us. I saw Percy walk out towards Annabeth. He grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her away from me. The crowd cleared a path for them as Percy stalked off with Annabeth in tow.

I was brought to the infirmary and was taken care by a few of Apollo's campers. My jaw had indeed broken. That was when I saw her.

She was at the other side of the infirmary. She was repeatedly shaking her head as an Apollo camper tried to dab some cotton on her, but to no avail. I caught myself staring at her, but I didn't care. She was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

"That's Clarisse. You probably won't want to mess with her." I heard a voice come from behind. I was, however, too busy staring to look at the person.

Then she caught me staring at her. She stuck her tongue out at me as she gathered her weapons, a spear and a shield, and stalked out of the infirmary. She's so beautiful, I thought to myself, dazed.

Percy's POV

"Stop! You're hurting me!" I heard Annabeth cry out.

I let go of her arm and turned her around to face me. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Chris was trying to harm us! Can't you see? You're really a Seaweed Brain."

"All he was doing was training his archery skills! I don't see anything wrong with that. It's just like me practicing my swordplay!"

"Yeah, but he's Kronos' servant! We can't trust him!"

"I know that you are still skeptical about Chris, but believe me, he is trying to redeem himself. He has not attempted to do anything against yet, right?"

"But he's evil! Just because he's not doing anything evil right now does not mean that he won't do anything evil in the future!"

"Just give him some time to redeem himself, okay? If he really does hurt our campers, you can do whatever you want with him."

Annabeth looked at me. She suddenly rushed forward and hugged me. She sobbed into my chest as she cried, "I don't you to get hurt, Percy! I don't want you to die! I have already seen so many of my friends succumb! I don't want to lose you next."

I absent-mindedly stroke her hair as I murmured, "Don't worry. I won't get hurt." I kissed her forehead gently. Just then, we heard a shout from the middle of Camp Half-Blood. We looked at each other before racing towards the source of a sound. Not a single word had to be spoken - that was how much we understood each other.

**Chris' POV**

I walked out of the infirmary with my jaw bound in a bandage. The infirmary had deemed my injury as "minor", shooing me outside to make myself useful. That girl could really pack a punch, I thought, rubbing my jaw but immediately wished I hadn't. It hurt like hell, especially when I tried to talk. But I couldn't really talk when staring at that girl named Clarisse.

But my daydream was broken by a shout of surprise. Everyone rushed towards the point of the shout, where Drew was standing in shock, looking at an abandoned silver bracelet on the ground and Silena Beauregard fast disappearing figure disappeared into the mist. I peered down, taking in the silver bracelet.

Kronos's communication device.

Everyone looked expectantly at me, expecting me to take off after the spy. My resolve faltered suddenly even though Percy saved my life, my legs seemed to have a life of its own, shuffling towards the boundaries of the camp. But the bright memory of Clarisse burned into my brain, stopping my disobedient legs immediately. I couldn't let her die when Kronos burned this camp down.

"Its Kronos' communication device with his spies." I told the demigods but the campers just stayed silent. They did not know that the fringes of Kronos' influence spread all the way to their camp. The Aphrodite Cabin was awash with tears, their cabin leader being Silena Beauregard. I didn't really take this as a surprise. Luke had been using his charm on Silena to gain a valuable informant in Camp Half-Blood before we left. Percy nudged his way to the front of the crowd, grimly accepting that Silena was a turn-coat. "We now know the extent of Kronos' influence." He said simply. "This calls for a quest to defeat Kronos before his power becomes impossible to withstand." Everyone agreed, but no one volunteered for what they knew was a suicidal quest.

"Percy, go and visit the Oracle of Delphi and tell us what she said, if you are still sane, that is." Chiron stepped forward and said.

Percy's POV

As usual, being the only child of the big three, I was chosen as the default leader of this quest that no one wanted to be a part of. I slowly trudged up the twisting stairs towards the attic, the spooky atmosphere causing the hair on my body to stand. As I walked cautiously around the attic looking for the Oracle of Delphi, I could not help but shudder as I passed many weird-looking artefacts rotting away in the attic. Soon, I found a mummy at the back of the attic. Staring at it, I breathed in deeply before stepping forward

I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: _I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask._

I asked, "What is the prophecy?"

The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards, with Sally standing beside one of the men. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies.

My fists clenched, though I knew this poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist.

Gabe turned towards me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: _A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds._

His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: _And see the world in endless sleep, the Hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap._

The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: _A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze._

Eddie, our building super, delivered: _Servant of Gaia to join his phase, trust or not, depends on a maze._

Finally, Sally announced the last line of the prophecy: _Daughter of war, to answer the call, 4 half-bloods to hold the wall._

The figures began to dissolve. At first I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What maze?"

The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been opened in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of momentos.

I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cobwebs, too, and I wouldn't learn anything else.

My audience with the Oracle was over.


	5. Chapter 5: Hades' Buddies

**Percy's POV**

Mulling over what I just heard, I made my way back to the rest of the camp. Everyone else seemed so carefree, and yet I had to be the one dealing with a prophecy that I didn't even understand. Shaking off my selfish feelings, I told the others what I had heard, hoping for another perspective on it.

"Daughter of War would mean Clarisse. " Annabeth helpfully pointed out, indicating the red-faced daughter of Ares, whose hands were clenching and unclenching on the hilt of her dagger. I cringed. After all, Clarisse wasn't really the best companion. But my mind was also troubled by other matters. What was the cursed blade? Riptide? I had already gathered that it had more than an innocent history. And apparently my soul was going to be reaped. I guess one good thing about the prophecy was that at least I would live till 16.

Annabeth's voice cut through my reverie. "No it can't be!" She said glaring directly at Chris. "Why does he have to go along?"

"Huh?" I said, cursing myself for not paying attention for the last few minutes.

"Servant of Gaia to join his phase - that must mean Chris. " Beckendorf said apologetically, trying not to notice the glares Annabeth was giving him. _Great, just great_, I thought to myself. _Chris and Clarisse, two people whom I dislike the most right now in Camp Half-Blood, going on a quest with me. Just wonderful._

"Personally I dislike 4 demigods going on this quest, but I guess we have to make some exceptions." Chiron chipped in. "You will have to choose one more camper Percy." Chiron prompted, his eyes filled with concern. I didn't know why he was so worried. There was no question, really, as to whom I would choose. Obviously Annabeth.

**Chris' POV**

A familiar feeling of helplessness and despair settled inside me. Why didn't I just run when I had the opportunity just now? I cursed my raging hormones that so adversely affected my sense of self-preservation. But now I was being roped into a crazy plan cooked up by some mummy. The war council had adjourned and Percy Jackson had disappeared into thin air, while his irritable girlfriend stomped around angrily. My views upon the quest softened slightly when I remembered Clarisse was going too, but that didn't change the fact that I was press-ganged into a suicidal mission in which Clarisse and I would die horrific deaths. I mean, 3 well-trained demigods and an unwilling hapless guy were going on a quest. You already knew who wasn't coming back. I didn't fancy my chances returning alive to Kronos. Once his minions see me with those suicidal fools Kronos would happily dice me to bits with them. I fumed angrily, ready to yell at anyone who came in my way. I stormed into the Hermes Cabin and examined my meagre worldly possessions, which included my treasured celestial bronze tomahawk. I was momentarily calmed by the sight of the stolen bow. Further examination revealed that the arrows were coated with a deadly poison which I could not scrape off and collect. I stared enviously at the Apollo campers at the archery range, guided by Chiron. They would probably be shooting arrows at targets for the next few weeks while I got shot at, hacked at, sliced at, punched and generally risking grievous injuries. I hated my life.

**Percy's POV**

Walking away from the irritated Annabeth, I thought about what I was going to have to do. I wandered about in the woods with my most understanding friend, Mrs O'Leary, thinking about my current predicament. I had no idea where to go. The only maze I knew about was the labyrinth, which had been destroyed last year. And how would Chris help us go through a maze? But my train of thought was interrupted by raised voices in the woods. I crept forward cautiously, expecting a few monsters roaming about in the woods, but I realized that the forest was thinning until it opened into the clearing of the cloven Elders. It wasn't looking very good. Dried grass was everywhere in various stages of death. There Juniper argued with an old goat dude, green tears streaming from her face. She was being restrained by Clarisse, which was a surprise. Clarisse usually started fights, not stopped them.

"Grover is a traitor and a liar!" The old goat dude shouted, flecks of saliva landing everywhere. His face was so red I was momentarily afraid that he would die of a heart attack. Then his words registered. I clenched my fists angrily. That old goat was so annoying!

**Chris' POV**

I crept stealthily after Clarisse into the forest, ignoring warnings about Giant Scorpions and dragons. I stole a bow from Lee Fletcher while I 'helped him collect arrows'. The campers wouldn't have survived 10 minutes in Kronos' encampment, being oblivious to the fact that no one did a good deed for someone else without a motive. Carrying my bow and tomahawk, I stepped lightly after the fast disappearing figure of Clarisse. We ventured deep into the woods, Clarisse was striding confidently towards a certain location. I concentrated on not being seen, until I saw the giant scorpion. _Rats_, I thought as I saw the giant scorpion barely fifteen meters away from me, facing the opposite direction. I sidled away slowly, desperately trying not be heard. I was not ready to fight a 4m long scorpion in its home territory. Then Clarisse tripped over a vine, cursing loudly with small shrieks of pain. The scorpion immediately wheeled around and saw me, frozen with fear. It advanced, scuttling forward with surprising speed. Training took over, causing me to dive aside as its tail came snapping forward. Its poison sting looked nasty. Very nasty. I drew an arrow and fired within a second, sending the arrow hissing towards its unarmoured eye with considerable power. But it moved with inhuman speed, causing my arrow to screech off its heavy chitin armor. Tossing the bow aside, I leapt forward with my tomahawk, laughing hysterically at my suicidal act. The celestial bronze axe head scoured a shallow gash on its claw, but I had a feeling I had only annoyed it when it hissed angrily and snapped at me with its claws. I deflected the heavy claw, but as I defended myself I barely had time to avoid it's tail arcing down towards me. It got embedded in the dirt and as the scorpion struggled to get it out I swung my sword down, severing the barb neatly from its tail. It gave a horrible screech of pain and backed away as I crowed in triumph. I advanced, holding my tomahawk menacingly, only to be interrupted by the rustling of bushes behind me. I turned, only to see two more giant scorpions emerge. I heard the injured scorpion give a smug hiss. _I'm dead_, I thought as all three scorpions converged on me. I made a sensible choice. Grabbing my discarded bow, I ran desperately towards a random direction away from the scorpions, trying not to notice the sinister scuttling of their legs as they pursued their prey. My lungs soon started burning as I continued at a dead run. My legs were giving out, but I could see the trees thinning ahead...

**Percy's POV**

I stepped forward into the clearing, hearing Juniper loudly proclaim that Grover was the bravest satyr she had ever met. Mrs O'Leary had no such reservations. Bounding forward, she started sniffing the old satyr excitedly. Maybe he smelled like mutton satay. The satyr staggered backwards. "Jackson, why have you brought this underworld creature to my clearing?"

"Sorry, Leneus" I said. "That's your name right?" With that, Leneus' chest puffed out proudly, exposing his embarrassingly protruding belly. _Too many tin cans_, I thought, sniggering silently.

"I know something happened to Grover. Something bad must have happened to him, but Leneus just wouldn't listen," Juniper sniffled, while Clarisse tried to comfort her.

Leneus, however, had no such sentiments. "Grover is a traitor! He fabricated sacrilege about Pan dying!" His voice rising in pitch with every word produced an effect, which was spoiled by Mrs O'Leary's excited WOOF when she found his tail. The satyr trembled with fear. "Call off your beast! Make it go away or I will not help you!" He threatened weakly.

I almost broke out with laughter there and then, but outwardly I sighed and distracted Mrs O'Leary with a giant dog biscuit.

Leneus huffed a sigh of relief that he tried to hide. "Grover hasn't bothered to send any reports after his proclamation of Pan's death." Leneus face turned red with outrage.

"We still need him to gather nature spirits for the oncoming war!" I said.

Leneus shrugged. "It's not our war." Then, I officially gave up. I almost wished Mrs O'Leary would bite this old goat. Then Nico materialized under a tree's shadow.

**Chris' POV**

I stumbled into the clearing, badly gashed by passing tree branches. I collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. The scorpions were unwilling to enter the clearing and hissed angrily as they lost their prey. I looked up after I had regained enough energy. Clarisse stood with a tree nymph, while Percy Jackson strode towards the boy dressed in black with an aviator's jacket 3 sizes too large for him. "Is it time?" Percy said, fear showing a little on his face. Wherever they were going, it was bad. Very bad. Then suddenly I realized that no one had noticed my entrance into the clearing. This was my chance to kill Percy Jackson!

Suddenly my bow was at full draw, pointed directly at Percy. But even as I could shoot, I hesitated. Percy hadn't killed me when he had the chance, when we were far underwater. He had decided to give me a chance. And here I was, ready to punish him for his generosity. I lowered my bow. A split second later, the tree nymph spotted me and said hesitantly. "Er...someone's here." Everyone spun around, Percy half-taking out his ballpoint pen until they realized it was only me.

"What happened to you?" Clarisse said, staring at my gashes and the wild look in my eyes.

"Giant scorpions. " I rasped. Percy looked away, distracted by other problems. He exchanged several words with that creepy boy and both seemed to come to an agreement. "What's happening?" I said, in my utter bewilderment.

"Our quest begins." Percy said with a nasty smile. I suddenly had a bad feeling. Shoving me onto the over excitable hellhound, Percy and Clarisse leapt skillfully onto the hellhound as if they had been doing it for their entire lives. "Meet Mrs. O'Leary, my hellhound." Percy patted its head.

"Couldn't we take some Pegasi instead?" I eyed the hellhound, not entirely trusting the 'tame' hell hound.

To my surprise, it was the creepy boy who answered. "No unless your Pegasi can shadow travel." Percy whispered a few words to the hellhound, causing it to be quite agitated. I suddenly imagined the hell hound propelling us off its back, smashing us into the very solid oak tree. The hellhound, coincidentally, had similar ideas. It took off at a dead run directly at the tree. I couldn't believe it. Escape from the explosion of the _Princess Andromeda_, only to be killed by a crazy hellhound. I closed my eyes.


	6. Chapter 6: Re-incarnation

**Percy's POV**

We passed cleanly through the tree trunk. Luckily. I had a sudden image of our mashed remains on the tree. We were travelling at a high speed in a pitch-black tunnel that echoed with screams of terror. Then I realized that Chris was doing the screaming. Cold sweat trickled down my spine as air currents pounded my face. Then suddenly we materialised in a wooded area with a small mound of rocks. Mrs O'Leary staggered a little reminding me of her well-being. "Sorry girl. " I said slipping of her back with Clarisse. Chris tumbled to the ground like a sack of bricks. I had this strange tingling feeling. For a few seconds, I struggled to place the feeling then it hit me like a thunderbolt. My empathy link! "Grover's here!" I shouted excitedly, scanning the trees for a sign of Grover. Clarisse and Nico looked at me skeptically.

"Who's Grover?" Chris said, drawing his bow. "Is he an enemy?"

I got annoyed. "To you maybe. To me, Grover's a friend." I suddenly got a mental image of Grover lying at the foot of a tree, fast asleep. _Wake up, G-Man!_ I sent through the the empathy link. _ZZZzzzzzz_ was the only answer I got. I forgot the subtleties. I sent Grover the mental image of tin cans, apples and Louis XVI furniture. _FOOD!_ Grover thought. A few seconds later, Grover emerged from the trees, rubbing his eyes.

"Percy, good to see you!" Grover said, yawning.

"Dude, where were you? You've been missing for months! Juniper was so worried!"

Grover stopped yawning. "Months?" He said, thinking back. "I remember this guy. Just looking at him made me feel sleepy." Grover started in surprise.

Chris yawned. "Looking at you makes me sleepy."

Grover glared at him. "Who is this upstart?"

I sighed. "Chris Rodriguez."

Grover looked shocked. "Chris Rodriguez? The traitor?"

"The one and only." Chris said, his chest puffing out.

"Enough!" I snarled, glaring at Chris. "Nico, you know something about that guy?"

Nico nodded. "Unfortunately. He is Morpheus, God of Dreams. He makes people sleep." At that I shivered, remembering a line of the prophecy. _And see the world in endless sleep._

"He must be involved in Kronos' attack." I said. Only to be interrupted by the roar of distant thunder. I knew the sound. It was Zeus' masterbolt. We gazed out towards the horizon, only to see a huge giant made out of some smoke ravaging through countryside. Tiny figures blasted the monster with their weapons.

"Typhon." I heard Nico breath. "Hurry we must go to the Underworld before he reaches here!" Nico shouted, running towards the small mound of rocks. Chris followed quickly, afraid of the huge monster. Clarisse and I ran after them. The giant's angry roar could be heard as it was hit by the masterbolt. But it didn't seem as dead as I wanted it to be.

"Mrs O'Leary!" I shouted. The huge hellhound woke up, running towards the rocks as it was attracted towards its natural habitat.

"Grover play your reed pipes!" Nico shouted, his voice getting drowned out by the sound of hundreds of trees uprooting. Grover got the message nevertheless. Taking out his reed pipes, Grover played a short staccato tune and a hole opened in the rock wall.

"Go, go, go!" Chris leapt into the tunnel first. We stumbled down the tunnel at high speeds, while Mrs O'Leary bounded down the steps, letting out a whimper. I stopped for a few seconds, wondering if Mrs O'Leary had gotten stuck in the tunnel walls, but whoever built this tunnel made it hellhound proof. Then there was a huge explosion above, and even though we were far underground we could hear the angry roar of Typhon, Father of all monsters.

**Chris' POV**

Leaving the mound of rocks far behind us, we trudged wearily down the tunnel. Since Typhon's roars stopped making earthquakes, the badly-dressed boy, Nico, deemed it was safe enough to stop running. As though we could run anyway with the tunnel shaking and half-collapsing. We emerged at the bank of the River Styx. Percy sighed. "I guess I have to do this." He muttered, looking at Nico, who nodded gravely.

"What are you gonna do? Take a leisurely swim there?" I said pointing at the river, where tons of junk floated around.

Percy grimaced. "Exactly." I took a step back, at a loss for words. Nico whispered several words into Percy's ear, who nodded.

Clarisse stood on lookout, while Grover trembled in fear. "I hate the underworld." I heard him mutter as he gazed towards the Fields of Punishment. But everyone turned their attention to Percy as he dropped with a small splash into the water. Once he touched the water he collapsed with pain and writhed around, his skin turning red as the water seemed to boil him alive.

"Remember your mortal anchor!" Nico shouted. Percy seemed not to notice and thrashed about. Then he seemed to go into a dream-like state.

"Get him out of there!" Grover yelled desperately, forgetting his fear of the underworld, reaching out to drag Percy ashore, only to be stopped by a determined-looking Nico. "We cannot touch the water."

Then Clarisse interrupted them. "Furies, incoming!" She took out her electric lance and waved it around dangerously. Without warning, one of the furies dived down and grabbed Grover. Nico drew his stygian iron sword with lightning fast reflexes and sliced down at the Fury, but missed marginally.

"Put me down, you underworld creature!" Grover cried, trying to take out his precious reed pipes. Instinctively I took out my precious bow with poisoned arrows and drew it to full draw. The Fury hissed angrily, using Grover as a human shield. I released, sending the arrow towards the other two Furies. Not expecting this move, the Fury failed to dodge the arrow. The arrow punched through fragile skin, lodging itself in the Fury's wing. The Furies laughed as the arrow had hit no where near a nerve centre or a vital organ, only to realise that the wing was starting to shrivel and die. In a few seconds, the Fury was reduced to yellow powder.

"You will die a horrible death, Chris Rodriguez, Servant of Gaia." The remaining Furies hissed, looking at their fallen sister. Then they swooped down, their whips swishing down viciously, dropping Grover to the ground. I turned and ran, firing an arrow behind me, which was skillfully avoided by evasive manoeuvres. I stumbled on the rocky ground, losing my footing and falling to the ground. A few seconds were all the Furies needed. Swooping down quickly, they raised their whips that looked like it had been made from human skin. Crowing in triumph, they lashed downwards, only to realise that their whips had turned into a string of dandelions, which scattered harmlessly when they hit me.

Grover smiled, reed pipes in hand. "You owe me one, Smart Mouth." But the Furies turned on him, flapping their leathery wings and lashing out at Grover with their claws. Clarisse managed to stab one of them, turning it into a smoking yellow powder. But the last Fury swiped Clarisse off her feet.

"Stop, Tisiphone!" Nico yelled, but the Fury ignored him, advancing on Grover menacingly. Grover raised his reed pipes to his mouth, but before he could play, the Fury was on him, knocking the reed pipes aside, the snakes on her hair snapping viciously at him. I reached for my bow, but it was several metres out of reach. Then Percy awoke.

**Percy's POV**

I struggled ashore and felt the mind-numbing pain slip away. All I wanted was to lie down and recover from my terrible ordeal, but my blurred vision managed to make out Grover getting attacked by a Fury. _The Furies and I must have some personal grudge or something, but I'm having enough Furies in my life already._ Grasping Riptide unsteadily, I stumbled towards the Fury, shouting insults. But the Fury had gotten smarter since I last experienced it. One of the snakes shot an acid into Grover's face. He screamed in agony, stumbling backwards, holding his burning face as the acid ate through it.

"No!" I charged forward, Grover was at the bank of a river of lava, falling to his knees. Then I saw his face. Ruined by acid and blinded by pain, his face was a patchwork of an unskilled tailor. He raised his hand, mouthing goodbye with his burned lips as he toppled into the river. A sizzle and a disturbance in the thick, gloopy lava was Grover's ending. "No!" I shouted again, tears forming in my eyes. I charged forward, hacking viciously at the Fury and scattered its powder in the river. Then I collapsed to ground, exhausted by grief. "Grover!" I cried, looking into the gently bubbling surface of the river. I stared unbelievingly into the distance, remembering the adventures we had together. Grover… Grover was… _The Curse of Achilles had not helped me save Grover. How is it useful?_ I wondered in despair, my tears flowing freely from my face. They landed on a rare patch of soil in the underworld and there grew a tiny flower. "A daffodil." I rasped. Grover had reincarnated! I scooped up the pile of soil with the daffodil and placed it in my bag. "I will carry you always." I whispered to the flower. I returned to my companions, not bothering to hide the stream of tears that poured down my face. Clarisse turned away, trying to hide her face.

"We have to move. Hades would have no doubt sensed our presence already." Nico said, his face set in grim lines.

Chris stared uncomprehendingly at the river of lava. "How could he just die?" Chris said.

Everyone ignored him, instead we headed back towards River Styx's banks. "How do we cross?" I asked Nico, who nodded.

"Don't worry, I prepared transport." He said, gesturing towards Charon's ship, which was emerging from the distance. "It was expensive." Shrugging aside his words, we climbed aboard the ship, bringing with us the pain of Grover's death.


End file.
